When the organiser of this year’s Rugby League World Cup wants to relax she goes fly-fishing for salmon on the banks of a Scottish river.

She does so, she says, because it is ‘engaging and active’.

That tells you a lot about Sally Bolton, the general manager charged with making sure the 14th edition of the event gets the nation hooked.

When we met at the tournament’s modest MediaCity HQ she comes across as restless, hardworking and determined to succeed. It’s probably just as well because – armed with just 12 staff – the 38-year-old former Wigan Warriors chief executive is responsible for pretty much everything you can think of.

At the moment she has feeding ballboys (and girls) on her mind.

“Do we have them sit down for a hot meal or do we give them a packed lunch?” she says.

“And what kind of uniforms do we give them?”

Such are the decisions on which the success of a tournament rests.

“The best competitions are the ones where people think everything just happened by magic,” she said. “Where they think the posts have gone up on their own.”

“Every morning I wake up to a full inbox because of the time difference with the Southern Hemisphere. People asking me questions like can we change their flights and have we sold the TV rights in Fiji yet?”

A misguided few may raise an eyebrow at the thought of a woman presiding over the showpiece event of a rough-and-tumble sport.

But Sally, who is from Harrogate but grew up watching Wigan’s era of domination on the settee with her cherry and white-supporting father, says she has never encountered sexism during her substantial stint in the game.

“The whole woman thing is a bit irrelevant – but I do appreciate people think it’s a bit unusual,” she said. “If gender stereotypes mean it’s bizarre that a woman would do this is because it’s a very male physically-macho sport then if you flip it the other way then the stereotype is that women are good at organising.

“The sport has always had a very good gender diversity. I’ve never felt there was a bar to

anything because I am a woman. There’s a perception it’s a tough male sport but off the field it is a very equal sport in every sense.”

The tournament kicks off in Cardiff with a double header on October 26 that sees an opening ceremony followed by England v Australia and then Wales v Italy.

Sally is promising fireworks at the Millenium Stadium.

“It will be the greatest show rugby league’s ever seen,” she said. “We’re closing the roof and the atmosphere is going to be fantastic.”

Bums on seats, however, will be the barometer of success. So does she think the tournament can shift 72,500 seats in union heartland?

“I don’t think it is unrealistic to think we can sell it out,” Sally added. “In business terms we don’t need to do so to hit our target, but that’s the aspiration.”

The tournament features 28 games in 21 venues including the final, which takes place across the water from Sally’s office at Old Trafford.

Wembley will host the semi-finals and Sally believes the tournament can do its bit to tackle League’s age-old nemesis – expanding the game outside the M62 corridor.

She is armed with statistics to back her cause.

So far 38 per cent of all ticket sales have gone to people living outside the north west, Yorkshire and the north east, she says with a smile on her face.

That figure rises to 68 per cent for the Cardiff opener and 61 per cent of tickets for the Wembley semi-finals are on their way to homes in London and the south east.

But Sally, who was brought to Wigan by Maurice Lindsay, a man who she credits with a ‘massive impact’ on her career, will not reveal how many tickets have actually been sold – although she does disclose that they have passed the 40 per cent of their target mark.

No doubt much will depend on a strong start from England against the perennial red-hot favourites from down under.

In 1995 a home win over Australia triggered arguably one of the most successful tournaments in the sport’s history while a damp squib at a gloomy Twickenham in 2000 had the reverse effect.

“My job is to deliver a successful tournament,” said Sally. “I am confident we can do that without an England success. When you look at the Olympics that was always going to be a really exceptionally well-delivered Games whatever happened.

“The GB success made it catch light. What will make this stellar is if England can perform well.”

Recent times have seen a steady flow of talent from Super League to the vastly-superior NRL and while many bemoan the loss of stars from the domestic game, Sally believes it may help the tournament.

“There’s a lot of optimism about the strength of the England team which I think is driven by the fact so many of them play in the NRL and the fact that people don’t get to see them playing on a regular basis.

“I think that adds excitement.”

With the clock ticking and little time for fly-fishing trips, Sally admits to some pre-match nerves.

“There’s equal measures of fear and excitement. There is not a long time left to get things right but it’s exciting.”

Her final comment could just as easily be about long afternoons spent at the side of a river waiting to land the prize (her biggest catch was a 12.5-pounder).

“You spend a long time preparing for it,” she sid. “It is almost here and it will be amazing – worth waiting for.”